Only a Game
by Lilith Naamah
Summary: What if our lives were controlled by something greater? Harry has a frightening dream. Post HBP, so there will be spoilers.


_"That knight is in dire peril, Albus."_

_Harry could not believe what he was seeing. This could not be real. There was no way that the late Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry's mentor, Albus Dumbledore could actually be sitting in a pristine lawn chair on a perfectly manicured lawn with his arch-nemesis, Lord Voldemort. But, they were and between the oddest pair of the century sat a glass lawn table, complete with a large parasol, and on that table sat a wizard's chess set. They were playing _chess_! It seemed so entirely ludicrous and comical that under different circumstances, Harry might have laughed. But as it were, he could only stare in a mingling of shock and confusion as Professor Dumbledore, seemingly unaware of Harry, leaned forward and entwined his fingers, appearing to be deep in thought. Finally, he sighed and moved the pawn next to the knight one space forward and out of imminent danger. _

_Voldemort gave a high-pitched chuckle and urged his queen forward, who did so gleefully, seeming to take savage pleasurein beating the knight to pieces and kicking them off the board and on to the glassy table, where they clinked like little ice cubes. Voldemort watched the process before looking up at Professor Dumbledore and smiling, snake-like fangs turning the gesture sinister. _

_"You're too attached to that pawn Albus." _

_Professor Dumbledore only smiled serenely, blue eyes twinkling. "Perhaps I am. Have a lemon drop?"_

_The game continued on like this for quite some time. Voldemort only managing to get his hands on one other piece, which he didn't even bother to kill but simply shoved onto the table where it sat grumbling darkly for the rest of the game. He also managed to get a pawn across and change it into a rook. Other than that though, he wasn't having much luck._

_Professor Dumbledore, on the other hand, made great progress, capturing a total of nine pieces and having them escorted off to the side like miniature prisoners of war. This left Voldemort with only his vicious queen, a seemingly indecisive rook, and three pawns. This all made Harry begin to relax. Professor Dumbledore seemed to be winning and all was going well. _

_As to be expected, Voldemort seemed to be getting very frustrated, dancing his rook and queen across the board and back in order to buy himself time while his red eyes brooded over tactics and strategy. When it was Voldemort's next turn, he sat analyzing his possible moves for a very long time, pointedly ignoring Professor Dumbledore as the former headmaster sucked rather noisily on his lemon drop. Finally, after what seemed a nearly breathless eternity, Voldemort moved his pawn diagonally and right into Professor Dumbledore's bishop that had been lurking in a corner._

_"Bad luck there Albus, I would like to make that pawn a bishop. Oh, and did I mention checkmate?"_

_Horrified, Harry saw realized that Professor Dumbledore's king was indeed in checkmate. Voldemort's pawn had disappeared and the white bishop had changed its colors and now it stood just three diagonal spaces from Professor Dumbledore's king. The rook that Professor Dumbledore had seemed so unwilling to kill stood diagonal space up from the king, blocking its escape, and one space to the left stood a pawn with its back up placed diagonally from it. None of Professor Dumbledore's pieces were able to help as they were all trapped protecting the pawn at the other end of the board._

_Professor Dumbledore saw all of this as well, and after a moment, he sighed and turned his king onto its side. "Ah well, it is only a game… Same time tomorrow then?"_

_Voldemort nodded, rising from his seat and dusting his robe of non-existent dust. Professor Dumbledore, stood as well, seemingly pleased as though losing had not mattered to him one bit._

_"Wonderful. I think I'll play Harry as king tomorrow."_

_"What? That useless pawn…"_

_Harry was no longer listening. As the two enemies left the table, walking off and still chattering loudly, Harry moved closer to it, feeling lead weigh down his stomach with every progressive step. Once there, he looked down at the chess pieces and had his suspicions, his fears confirmed. _

_The overturned king was none other than Professor Dumbledore himself. The black king was of course Voldemort, and the more Harry looked at the pieces, the more faces he recognized. The vindictive and insane Lestranges, Lucius Malfoy looking arrogant as ever. Avery, Macnair, Dolohov, Rookwood and Nott all looking disgusting, and a little cowering pawn by the king was Peter Pettigrew. On the white side, there was Professor McGonagall looking stern, Lupin gentle as always, Ron and Hermione standing side by side. Tonks was not far from Remus, hair a bright pink. There was also the tall and imposing Kingsley Shacklebolt, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and Mad-eye Moody. Mundungus Fletcher was still grumbling drunkenly from his place on the glassy table beside the shattered pieces of his god-father Sirius Black. _

_The bishop that had changed colors was a brooding and scowling Severus Snape, and the rook that had helped corner Dumbledore was a slightly scared-loking Draco Malfoy; the pawns nearby being his two cronies Crabbe and Goyle. _

_And, in the middle of the foray stood the small figure of himself, looking noble and brave as others protected him…_

Harry woke with a jolt, sitting up instantly in his bed at Number Four Privet Drive, gasping for air and shivering from the cold sheen of sweat drenching his body. It was a dream. Just a dream. Harry breathed a sigh of relief that his world had not been turned completely upside down and laid back down, turning his head from side to side in order to find a comfortable position on his very lumpy pillow. Finding one, he closed his bright green eyes and tried to go back to sleep, but he was unable to keep Dumbledore's words from echoing in his head.

_"Only a game…"_


End file.
